Black Ice


Becca Fitzpatrick - 2014
    Before Britt can explore her feelings for Calvin, an unexpected blizzard forces her to seek shelter in a remote cabin, accepting the hospitality of its two very handsome occupants—but these men are fugitives, and they take her hostage.Britt is forced to guide the men off the mountain, and knows she must stay alive long enough for Calvin to find her. The task is made even more complicated when Britt finds chilling evidence of a series of murders that have taken place there…and in uncovering this, she may become the killer’s next target.But nothing is as it seems, and everyone is keeping secrets, including Mason, one of her kidnappers. His kindness is confusing Britt. Is he an enemy? Or an ally?

Thread of Hope


Jeff Shelby - 2011
    Now he’s been brought back to San Diego by the news that this friend has been arrested for beating up a teenage girl—a girl not much older than Elizabeth would be now.Joe is convinced Chuck Winslow is innocent, but Chuck is in a coma and can’t explain what happened. And the more Joe hears about what Chuck’s been up to in the years he’s been gone, the less Joe recognizes his old friend. To find out the truth, he will have to face his ex-wife, his former bosses, and a hometown full of wealth, lies, and illicit privilege. When Chuck’s accuser goes missing, Joe must decide where his loyalties truly lie.

Lion on Fire: A casino-heist thriller


Ted Galdi - 2017
    Nothing goes as planned, and soon Brian is forced to team up with a charismatic co-worker to rob the mobsters who run the casino. Lion on Fire is the third book by Ted Galdi, the Amazon #1 bestselling author of Elixir and An American Cage. He’s been featured by Kirkus magazine, ABC, FOX, iHeartRadio, and many other media outlets. Main character Brian is shocked to learn that his younger brother not only has been dealing cocaine, but foolishly lost a whole package of it, and now owes his boss $30,000. If Brian’s brother doesn’t come up with the money in a few weeks, he’s dead. Brian decides to help. However, he realizes scrapping together that sort of cash in such a short timeframe is nearly impossible legally. So he approaches Dusty, another driver at the limousine company where he works, and asks him about the whispers of lucrative, yet illegal, side jobs he’s heard among the staff. After proving himself trustworthy with an initiation test, Brian is invited to participate in an underground driving network that shuttles wealthy individuals to extravagant, though illicit, gambling events set up in multi-million-dollar Manhattan penthouses. At first things go smoothly, and Brian pockets a lot of much-needed extra income. However, they turn jarring once he finds out a high-profile Russian gangster is behind the gambling events, and becomes mixed up with him not only professionally, but personally. With tensions rising, and the fate of Brian’s relationships with his parents and girlfriend now entangled with the underground casino, not to mention the life of his brother, he winds up in a position where pulling off a mafia robbery may be his only chance to get himself and his loved ones out of this mess alive and intact. Lion on Fire is a fun, fast-paced, action-packed gambling thriller, and also an emotionally charged buddy story, which pairs do-gooder Brian with the charmingly wild and alluringly mysterious Dusty, who not only guides Brian through the dangerous world of the mafia casino, but ushers him toward a new and profound view of the world as a whole. The book is perfect for fans of crime fiction that’s edgy while having a soul. A Russian mafia thriller featuring a revenge plan and heist, it’s loaded with adrenaline. However, it is just as touching as it is exciting. At the core of a plot about organized crime and pursuing police officers is the budding friendship of two young men who initially seem very different.   Set in New York City, Lion on Fire takes readers on a ride through a colorful cross section of neighborhoods and the lives that populate them. It’s written in the tradition of the Manhattan thriller, showcasing both the glamour and the grit of the city.  With this unique story, you’ll find yourself quickly turning pages as your pulse rises, while cheering for characters who make their way into your heart.

The Columbus Affair


Steve Berry - 2012
    But when one of his stories from the Middle East is exposed as a fraud, his professional reputation crashes and burns. Now he lives in virtual exile—haunted by bad decisions and a shocking truth he can never prove:  that his downfall was a deliberate act of sabotage by an unknown enemy. But before Sagan can end his torment with the squeeze of a trigger, fate intervenes in the form of an enigmatic stranger.  This stranger forces Sagan to act—and his actions attract the attention of the Magellan Billet, a top-secret corps of the United States Justice Department that deals with America’s most sensitive investigations. Sagan suddenly finds himself caught in an international incident, the repercussions of which will shudder not only Washington, D.C., but also Jerusalem. Coaxed into a deadly cat-and-mouse game, unsure who’s friend and who’s foe, Sagan is forced to Vienna, Prague, then finally into the Blue Mountains of Jamaica—where his survival hinges on his rewriting everything we know about Christopher Columbus.

Deadly Straits


R.E. McDermott - 2011
    Griffin, R.E. McDermott delivers a thriller to rival the masters.When marine engineer and very part-time spook Tom Dugan becomes collateral damage in the War on Terror, he's not about to take it lying down.Falsely implicated in a hijacking, he's offered a chance to clear himself by helping the CIA snare their real prey, Dugan's best friend, London ship owner Alex Kairouz. Reluctantly, Dugan agrees to go undercover in Alex's company, despite doubts about his friend's guilt. Once undercover, Dugan's steadfast refusal to accept Alex's guilt puts him at odds not only with his CIA superiors, but also with a beautiful British agent with whom he's romantically involved.When a tanker is found adrift near Singapore with a dead crew, and another explodes in Panama as Alex lies near death after a suspicious suicide attempt, Dugan is framed for the attacks. Out of options, and convinced the attacks are prelude to an even more devastating assault, Dugan eludes capture to follow his last lead to Russia, only to be shanghaied as an 'advisor' to a Russian Spetsnaz unit on a suicide mission.Deadly Straits is a non-stop thrill ride, from London streets, to the dry docks of Singapore, to the decks of the tankers that slake the world's thirst for oil, with stops along the way in Panama, Langley, Virginia, and Teheran. Richly spiced with detail from the author's 30 years sailing, building, and repairing ships worldwide, it is, in the words of one reviewer, "fast-paced, multilayered and gripping."

National Security


Marc Cameron - 2011
    A public landmark. A suburban shopping mall. And now, the human body itself. Three Middle Eastern terrorists have been injected with a biological weapon, human time bombs unleashed on American soil. They are prepared to die. To spread their disease. To annihilate millions. If America hopes to fight this enemy from within, we need a new kind of weapon. Meet Special Agent Jericho Quinn. Air Force veteran. Champion boxer. Trained assassin. Hand-picked for a new global task force that, officially, does not exist, Quinn answers only to the Director of National Intelligence and the U.S. President himself.His methods are as simple, and as brutal, as his codename.

The Dark Tide


Andrew Gross - 2008
    Days later, with many bodies still unidentifiable, Karen resigns herself to the awful truth: her husband of eighteen years is dead.On that same day, a suspicious hit-and-run accident leaves a young man dead in Karen's hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut. Ty Hauck, a detective, becomes emotionally caught up in the case and finds a clue that shockingly connects the two seemingly unrelated events.Months later, two men show up at Karen's home digging into Charles's business dealings. Hundreds of millions of dollars are missing—and the trail points squarely to Charles. With doubt suddenly cast on everything she has ever known, Karen, with Hauck, steps into a widening storm of hedge fund losses, international scams, and murder. And as the investigations converge, these two strangers touched by tragedy are pulled into a deepening relationship and unwittingly open the door to a twisted—and deadly—conspiracy.With its breakneck pacing, plentiful twists, compelling characters, and abundant heart, The Dark Tide confirms Andrew Gross's place as a master storyteller at the top of his game.

Not a Drill


Lee Child - 2014
    But even a pleasant hike on a beautiful summer day turns into a walk on the wild side . . . and perhaps something far more sinister.Jack Reacher is on the road, hitching a ride with some earnest young Canadians who are planning a hike through some of the last unspoiled wilderness in North America in the dense forests of Maine. They part ways after sharing a hot meal, and Reacher checks out a quiet town surrounded by countryside serene enough to cool even his raging wanderlust. But not for long. First the trail is suddenly and inexplicably closed. Then the military police show up in force. Maybe it's a drill. Or maybe it's trouble—the kind of trouble that always finds Reacher, no matter how far he travels off the beaten path.

A New Life


David J. Antocci - 2013
    She has no idea how she got there, and notices changes in herself that she cannot explain. Haunted by unsettling dreams of her past, she sets out to escape, joined by Eric, who finds himself in the same predicament. Standing in their way is a madman, and his band of willing followers, with a mind set on murdering their unwelcome visitors. An eccentric hermit who has been living there for years offers them refuge, but they must deny his generosity. Escape is their only option. Yet, they discover this deceptive paradise is harder to leave than they had ever imagined. One mystery leads to another, until their escape throws them into even greater danger as Abby’s frightening past finally catches up with her. Her escape is only the beginning.

Pocketful of Bones


Julie Frayn - 2017
    When an accident takes the life of a friend, Finnegan buries the evidence amid the purple dead nettle and bougainvillea, and unearths a treasure trove of human remains. Did his house rest atop an ancient burial ground? Or was there a killer tucking him into bed at night?His fascination with bones grows as fast as his obsession with his mother. She rejects his advances, and he escapes to the other side of the country. Years later, he returns to his childhood home, to the secrets and the guilt and the bones -- and to fulfill his destiny.

Mind's Eye


Douglas E. Richards - 2014
    But they're about to get far worse. Because he's being hunted by a team of relentless assassins. Soon Hall discovers that advanced electronics have been implanted in his brain, and he now has two astonishing abilities. He can surf the web using thoughts alone. And he can read minds. But who inserted the implants? And why? And why is someone so desperate to kill him?As Hall races to find answers, he comes to learn that far more is at stake than just his life. Because his actions can either catapult civilization to new heights--or bring about its total collapse.Extrapolated from actual research on thought-controlled web surfing, Mind's Eye is a smart, roller-coaster ride of a thriller. One that raises a number of intriguing, and sometimes chilling, possibilities about a future that is just around the corner.

Poison Orchids


Sarah A. Denzil - 2019
    Denzil and Anni TaylorYoung backpackers Gemma and Hayley arrive at a remote mango farm, out of money and desperate for work. The farm's owner, Tate Llewellyn, welcomes them in with open arms. An enigmatic, wealthy chemist, Tate spends his days running his hobby farm and cultivating rare orchids in his greenhouse.The weeks go on, a blur of fruit-picking with the other international backpackers, parties, campfires and wading beneath waterfalls in the nearby hot springs. Tate calls the girls his orchids...his pretty orchids... Until the night the girls find themselves on a dark highway, bruised and bloodied.How did paradise turn so ugly?Senior Detective Bronwen McKay and psychologist Megan Arlotti question the terrified girls. But Hayley and Gemma are telling two very different stories of what happened to them over the past three months.Which story is the truth and what are the girls covering up?

Death Report


Erik Racker - 2019
     And hers is just the beginning. The killer wants to be noticed, he wants his handiwork in the spotlight, and he needs his name known. The man’s motivation is something only a fractured mind could imagine. For Sergeant Braun, each step closer to his culprit pushes the killer another step closer to the edge. The man is already capable of murder, so what can possibly happen if he’s pushed too far?

The Accident


Chris Pavone - 2014
    In Copenhagen, veteran CIA operative Hayden Gray, determined that this sweeping story be buried, is suddenly staring down the barrel of an unexpected gun. And in Zurich, the author himself is hiding in a shadowy expat life, trying to atone for a lifetime’s worth of lies and betrayals with publication of The Accident, while always looking over his shoulder.Over the course of one long, desperate, increasingly perilous day, these lives collide as the book begins its dangerous march toward publication, toward saving or ruining careers and companies, placing everything at risk—and everyone in mortal peril.  The rich cast of characters—in publishing and film, politics and espionage—are all forced to confront the consequences of their ambitions, the schisms between their ideal selves and the people they actually became.The action rockets around Europe and across America, with an intricate web of duplicities stretching back a quarter-century to a dark winding road in upstate New York, where the shocking truth about the accident itself is buried. Gripping, sophisticated, layered, and impossible to put down, The Accident proves once again that Chris Pavone is a true master of suspense.

Fault Line


Barry Eisler - 2009
    But then the inventor of a technology Alex is banking on is murdered... and the patent examiner who reviewed it dies... and Alex himself narrowly escapes an attack in his own home. Off balance, out of ideas, and running out of time, he knows the one person who can help him is the last person he'd ever ask: his brother.Ben Treven is a Military Liaison Element, an elite undercover soldier paid to "find, fix, and finish" high-value targets in America's Global War on Terror. Disenchanted with what he sees as America's culture of denial and decadence, Ben lives his detached life in the shadows because the black ops world is all he really knows--and because other than Alex, who he hasn't spoken to since their mother died, his family is long gone.But blood is thicker than water, and when he receives Alex's frantic call, Ben hurries to San Francisco to help him. Only then does Alex reveal that there's another player who knows of the technology: Sarah Hosseini, a young Iranian American lawyer who Alex has long secretly desired... and who Ben immediately distrusts. As these three radically different people struggle to identify the forces attempting to silence them, Ben and Alex are forced to examine the events that drove them apart--even as Sarah's presence, and her own secret wants, deepens the fault line between them.Emotionally charged and politically timely, Fault Line centers on a conspiracy that has spun out of the shadows and into the streets of America, a conspiracy that can be stopped only by three people--three people with different worldviews, different grievances, different motives. To survive the forces arrayed against them, they'll first have to survive each other.